Mists of the ancients
by Hazel75
Summary: This is a story based on the summons/aeons of final fantasy 7-10. Our protagonist is Hazel, owner of a clouded past she never even questioned. Until now.
1. A dream

Introduction  
  
Ok, this here is a very strange fanfic that is based on a comical "manga" that my friend and I created. That comic was based on the summons/aeons from the final fantasy series. (If you haven't played most of the later final fantasies, you might not understand everything.) It was about the sons and daughters of the summons/aeons and how they lived in their own little happy dimension. Now this comic didn't have a shred of drama in it, or darkness, or seriousness. But I thought it would be interesting to turn this into a more dramatic story or something. Anyway, if it sounds interesting, I'll leave you to it. If not, run. Run FAR AWAY. (heehee^^)  
  
Ok. On with the story!  
  
  
  
Chapter one  
  
Hazel dashed through the hallways, her breathing short and fast. She was hopelessly lost in the labyrinth of her new school, "Sanari's school for the summons." She nearly slipped and fell on the smooth, marble floor as she made a sharp turn in mid-run, hoping and praying that this would be the hallway her class (which she was now extremely late for.). Hazel was prone to slipping often- she didn't have half the grace of her beautiful mother, Shiva. Her long, deep blue hair, pulled back in a tight ponytail, brushed gently against her bare back of snow-white skin. Her blue stripes on her alabaster body almost gave her the look of a Siberian tigeress chasing down its prey (with less than half the poise); she was increasing her speed by the second.  
  
But as the minutes went by, she began to slow down; there was no point in running. Now matter how fast she ran her sense of direction would never improve. (Besides, she was out of breath.) She slowed her a pace down to a plod, and looked carefully at the numbers on the classrooms to see if she could find hers.  
  
As the slowed down, she had given her self the chance to take a good look around her surroundings. It was like a museum, she thought. She stopped completely; She was going to be late anyway, so why not make a small pit stop? She opened her amber eyes all the way and gazed around, with a fascinated expression on her lively face,  
  
The hallway she was in hardly the most astonishing place in the academy. But for someone who had never tread about the campus before, it was quite a breath-taking sight. The walls were a smooth crystal; ancient symbols of eons past were encrypted into the walls. The ceiling , however , was jagged and rough; gave one the feeling that they were inside of a diamond from the way that it was shaped. It was almost blinding when one looked up at it in the daylight. The way the ceiling bent the light created a dazzling pattern on the floor that Hazel could only gaze at in awe. She turned around slowly to find ancient artifacts and weapons that her ancestors used. She wondered absentmindedly if her father, Odin, had ever used one of these blades, perhaps maybe his father before him. She pondered this for a moment.  
  
But there was one thing that she did not predict. She didn't even see it, but rather felt it. She suddenly stopped in the middle of her turn, and simply stood there, completely motionless. She didn't really understand why, but she gently closed her eyes. She felt a strange urge to walk over in a particular direction, and slowly, ever so slowly, turned around, slowly, and then took a step, and glided to the east of the room. Something was calling her,her eyes still sealed shut by a strange hypnotism.  
  
"Miss?" a concerned voice suddenly jerked hazel out of her trance, like she had suddenly plunged into a frigid lake. The voice continued to speak. "What are you doing? You should be in class.are you alright?" Hazel blushed uncontrollably. "Yes! I'm fine! I.I." she bowed repeatedly in submission to someone who seemed to be an instructor. "I got lost, and then.and then.I felt something strange.I'm sorry! You see, I'm new and I don't know where anything is and I -" but before she could finish her sentence the instructor help up her hand. "Slow down, slow down! It's all right. You must be Hazel. You're new here, are you not? I heard about your arrival." This confused Hazel. "How do you know my name?" She blurted out. The instructor only smiled. "You look and act exactly like your mother when she was your age." Hazel blushed. She was nothing like her mother. Her mother was so composed and collected; the exact opposite of Hazel. Was she really like her mother? Or even stranger- was her mother ever like HER? Scary thought. "How do you know my mother?" Hazel asked. The instructor smiled again. " We used to go to this academy together, she and I. But, we grew apart and went our separate ways as the years slowly lead us away from each other." The instructor suddenly got a glazed looked on her face, but soon shoke her head and returned to her normal self. " Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to ramble about my past. My name is Siren. What are you looking for?" Finally! Someone hazel could talk to! " Well, I just transferred here from the primary academy, so I don't know where anything is. I'm looking for," She examined her schedule. "Ezgrek. (A foreign language to the summons and aeons of this area) do you know where that is?" Siren laughed. "That's my class! Good thing we ran into each other. Come with me." Siren led Hazel on through the hallway. But Hazel couldn't relax.. What was that feeling, that reverie she had found herself in before Siren had pulled her out? She had to ask, even if she couldn't get an answer. "Siren?" Siren turned to face Hazel. "Yes?" "I felt something strange, like a deep sleep taking over me and, " Hazel drifted off. "Oh, that, " Siren had a strange look on her face, half curiosity, and half concern. " You aren't the first one this has happened to. Don't worry about it." This was all Hazel had to hear to get this off her back; she wanted it out of her mind, for this feeling had scared her. Despite the expression Siren had on her face, she didn't care. Anything to chase her fears away.  
  
As the two neared the crystal, gem-studded door to the Ezgrek room. Hazel became less and less worried and more and more excited. She got to be with her friends in their new, secondary school! She lightheartedly trotted after Siren. As Siren lay her hand on the door to open it, the said one last thing to Hazel before they entered. "Oh, and please call me Ms. Siren. I'm still your instructor, you know." She said kindly. " Of course!" Hazel agreed. She walked into the classroom to begin her first day here.  
  
  
  
And that's the end of chapter one! I hoped you like it, as strange and corny, as I know it was. And yes, the trance is going somewhere! But you'll have to read the next chapter to find out! Mwahaha! Now I have your FORCED attention! Well, not really.but that's not the point!  
  
Oh, some happy little author's notes before you go on (if you choose to):  
  
Primary Academy and secondary academy- ok, here's how the school system works. The primary academy is like elementary school, and secondary school is like middle school. 'nuff said, ne?  
  
Shiva- for those that don't know, she is the goddess of ice. I think she appears as a summon/aeon in every final fantasy so far.  
  
Odin- Hazels father, who is a summon on Final fantasy seven and nine, I believe. Correct me if I'm wrong. (I'm only using summons/aeons from Final fantasy 7-10, btw,^^)  
  
Siren- From final fantasy eight. She's supposed to be the exact opposite of my scaaaaaary French teacher. Siren is young, beautiful, and kind while my French teacher is Old, crabby, and slightly..krusty. *Wince*  
  
Ok! Enough of my meaningless babbling! Onto chapter two! 


	2. Times of peace

Hello, everyone! Welcome to chapter two! (For those that survived chapter one!)  
  
Legolas: Even the mightiest warriors would not have that kind of strength.  
  
Alicia: GRR!  
  
Legolas: I'm just kidding, love. *Huggles Alicia *  
  
Alicia: WOO-HOO! *Enjoys Legolas * Oh, yeah. Enjoy chapter two!  
  
(Note- If something has a * by it, that means that I have defined it at the bottom of the page. However, if the definition is really short, I'll probably just put it in parenthesis, like this!)  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter two  
  
Hazel sauntered into the room, not even the slightest bit embarrassed about her tardiness. (She was far too used to this by now, after years of experience.) She scanned the room for anyone she might know. As soon as she did, she darted towards the seat next to them like someone else was just about to snatch it away from her. The friend that she had just seated herself beside was Rebecca, an old friend that she had known ever since she had first started her education. Rebecca turned her head to face Hazel, her Soft blond hair gently brushing against her light brown shoulders. Her face formed a polite smile, and the she turned back around to face the teacher. Rebecca, daughter of *Titan, had a fairly simple outfit on; an emerald strapless top with a long emerald dress to match, revealing her midriff. She had several small golden chains wrapped loosely around her wait. Upon her neck she wore a small, silver thin-chained necklace, with a small glimmering green orb dangling on the chain. Hazel wasn't very surprised that Rebecca hadn't said anything more; She always paid very close attention to the instructor, especially when he or she was addressing something new. Hazel smiled and decided she may as well listen. That didn't work out too well. As Hazel began to zone out, She got a look around the room. Compared to the hallway, it was extremely dull; it wasn't remarkable in anyway. The walls were white, with some signs with translations of word from Territh (The language hazel and her region speaks) into Ezgrek. A simple *v-screen was at the front of the room. No enchanting crystal ceiling, no carvings, nothing. The only things that were somewhat interesting were the carvings on the wooden desks and chairs. There were carvings of Animals, faeries, nymphs, and other gorgeous creatures engraved in the wood. Hazel amused herself for the rest of the period staring into these carvings. Some of the animals she did not recognize, and yet, somehow, they seemed very familiar, as though from a fading memory. Minutes after Hazel arrived at the classroom and took a seat, the bells for the next class rang. They pierced the air with their song, ringing merrily throughout the hallways and courtyard, like church bells, like the calls of angels. Hazel jumped up out of her seat, nearly toppling the chair she was sitting in over. She could finally speak to someone! Rebecca, who was apparently waiting until the bell to ask Hazel a few questions, spoke first. " Hazel, Hi! Where were you? You went back to get something you left in our last class and to go on to my next class without you. I thought I would see you on my way there, but you disappeared! And apparently for quite some time. I guess we never compared schedules; I didn't even know you had this class! Where did you go off to that took so long?"  
  
" Well.I kinda.sorta."  
  
"Oy vey, Hazel, did you get lost again? Oh well. This school is enormous. It's easy to get lost here. I would never have found my way here if it weren't for the maps they gave us."  
  
"THEY GAVE US MAPS?!?!"  
  
Rebecca laughed at Hazel's reaction, and handed her the map she was using. " I'll stop by the front office and pick up a new one after lunch," Rebecca glanced at the clock on the wall. " Which seems to be right now." Hazel was surprised. "Its lunchtime already?" Rebecca nodded. " Its hard to get used to this place. I hope Alex and Lev will meet us in the courtyard.." And with that, Rebecca and Hazel trotted off to the courtyard.  
  
When the two arrived, neither Alex nor Lev had yet come to the courtyard. While Rebecca spread out a blanket underneath a shady tree, Hazel looked around, absolutely fascinated by the landscape. There was a clear pool in the center of the courtyard, which split out into six small streams that cascaded over the edge of the school down to the Earth, which one could not even see from where they were; only sky and clouds. The earth was far away; an eternity from where they stood .The streams divided the land into what looked like pie slices. Small wooden bridges went over the streams, crossing the gaps so one could travel section to section. Magic force fields were set up in the openings where the river fell, so no one was in any danger of falling. Hazel was just completely absorbed in its beauty until a familiar voice rang in the air. " I EAT FABRIC SOFTENERS!!!" Hazel turned around, only to be tackled to the soft, grassy ground by Lev, another old and slightly scary friend. Lev, son of Leviathan and a *water nymph was always known as "he who has many problems." There may have been some truth to that. You could never possibly predict what Lev was going to say or do next. And whatever it was, it was the last thing you would expect. Alex shouted from a distance (while laughing a bit) "LEV! GET OFF OF HER!" but his command was to no avail. Finally Lev got up, and said a quick "Hi, Hazel." before he went over to where Rebecca was eating and gorged on his lunch. Hazel got up and quickly brushed some grass off of her arms and legs. When she got up, Alex had just gotten to her after running over to her.  
  
"Hi, Hazel. It's nice to see you again. Are you ok?"  
  
"I'm used to it," Hazel laughed. "I think we all are."  
  
"Yeah, Its not like this is the first time. Or the second. Or the thousandth."  
  
"Well, I'm hungry!" Hazel blurted out. "Lets eat something!"  
  
The group mainly feasted on Shaline bread (a kind of bread that the summons/aeons eat) and Kithstari fried fish (A kind of fish from Nathlanara, land of the Water Nymphs) But alas, lunch break ended all too soon as the bell rung for that class. The events tat would occur in that class would affect her life. It was time for her first Dueling lesson.  
  
  
  
Yep, that way the end of chapter two! It wasn't very dramatic or suspenseful, but you gotta give me a chance to introduce the characters! I'm sorry if I bored you. Oh, yes. Here is the footnotes-  
  
V-screen- more or less like a very high-tech black board. It can play movies; look into certain places at the touch of a button, and save any previous lesson ever done on it before, should a review be necessary.  
  
Titan- A summon from final fantasy seven, the god of earth.  
  
Nymph- ok, the nymphs are strange creatures indeed. They're basically elemental spirits that have taken on human form. They can mate with the summons/aeons as well. Most of the inhabitants of the summon/aeon dimension are nymphs, but they are nearly powerless compared to summons/aeons. The nymphs are born from the energy that summons/aeons radiate.  
  
Being half nymph, half summon/aeon does not decrease your power, but rather increases the certain amount of power you have over the nymph's element.  
  
Nymphs can be of Fire, water, wind, earth, thunder, darkness, and holy.  
  
Nymph children also go to the same academy as the summon/aeon children, but they have different classes. The reason it is 'Sanari's school for the summons' is because the instructors there are well known for making summon/aeon children very strong indeed.  
  
OK! * Gasp * enough of this! Onto chapter three! 


	3. Burning ice

Well done! You've survived chapter two, and somehow, summoned the strength to read chapter three! *applauds*  
  
Legolas: Amazing. Simply amazing.  
  
You're awfully nonchalant today.  
  
Legolas: I'm always nonchalant.  
  
Oh yeah. *pause* I LIKE you^^ *huggles Legolas*  
  
Legolas: heh heh.I know.  
  
Ok! On to chapter three!  
  
Chapter 3  
  
  
  
Hazel and her companions reluctantly trudged to their next class. It was such a nice day out! Why couldn't they just stay at lunch for the rest of the day? The heavenly song of the birds faded as the four of them walked away from the courtyard and into a hallway similar to the one Hazel had entered before.  
  
"This is the east hallway. We were in the west hallway last time." Rebecca explained, even though no one asked .No one every questioned Rebecca's sense of direction. Whenever you wanted to go anywhere, Rebecca would probably be your only hope. Alex wasn't great with directions (He was often late to class, but not nearly as late as Hazel often was.) As you could plainly see in events passed, Hazel couldn't even find her way out of a walk in closet. And Lev? It's never a good idea to follow him. You really don't want to know where you might end up. You really don't.  
  
They walked at a fairly slow pace; their next class (which they had together.) wasn't very far from them now. But Hazel felt strange. She slowed her pace. Her eyelids were suddenly sealed closed. She stopped. It was starting to get cold. She shivered softly, her body shaking and trembling. She felt very weak and frightened and alone, somehow. Well, maybe not alone. Someone else was there. A shadow; a shadow of someone not wishing to show their face. Hazel didn't see any of this; but rather felt it. She felt like a phantom had drifted right through her. Then, she started to, inch by inch, walk slowly towards the west.  
  
"Hazel? Hazel, are you ok?!"  
  
"AH!" Hazel was jolted out of her dream. Though it was more like a nightmare.  
  
Alex Had grabbed Hazel by the shoulders, staring into her eyes with a look of terrible concern. Hazel could only stare back at him, into his deep blue eyes, piercing her like shards of burning ice. She froze for a moment. She was just as terrified as he was, possibly more. But he looked so worried for her. How could she tell him that there was actually something wrong? How could she strike more fear into his heart? Those eyes?  
  
Alex managed to speak.  
  
"You were shivering. And breathing like you had just run a thousand miles," Alex stammered. "You were panicking."  
  
Hazel could only stare back into Alex's eyes.  
  
"Hazel?"  
  
Hazel didn't know how she did it. But with all the strength inside of her, She managed to force a laugh. It was a false laugh. A cold and empty laugh; completely absent of any cheer or emotion whatsoever. Did Alex sense this?  
  
"I'm fine!" She squeaked. ".I'm sorry I scared you. I just felt a really cold draft come in. And besides, I'm a little nervous about the next class, you know? I'm fine."  
  
Alex looked at her with an unconvinced look. Hazel was a terrible liar.  
  
"I mean it! I'm fine!"  
  
The bell rang. The timing couldn't have been better.  
  
"Oh, great!" Hazel nervously chuckled. "The bell rang! Well, lets go!" Hazel ran ahead of the rest of the group. The rest of them followed her, but all of them were worried. Well, All but Lev, anyway. Maybe he was worried, but it was impossible to tell with him. He was always smiling, no matter what was going on inside his twisted, little fabric softener filled head.  
  
  
  
Hazel, who was ahead of her friends, quietly drifted into the classroom. She sat down without a word, looking down at her desk, pondering. What was going on with her? Was there something wrong with her? But it wasn't long before she could no longer stay in denial. She had to ask herself the bigger question.  
  
What was that other presence?  
  
But she had to cease her thoughts sooner than she expected. Within moments, an all too familiar voice rung through the air. A voice that Hazel had really hoped she'd never have to hear again.  
  
Ta-daa! That was chapter three! Yep, yep, it suuuuuuure was. And guess what? It's your lucky day! You don't even have to put up with any boring explanations about stuff in the story! So yeah! You can go on to chapter four! That is, if you want to. 


End file.
